INDIANAPOLIS -- The first hit didn't come a month or two after his neck surgery. It didn't come during the team's mandatory minicamp in June, either. Indianapolis Colts running back Ahmad Bradshaw wanted to wait as long as possible before testing out his surgically repaired neck.
The first hit on the neck came in training camp courtesy of defensive lineman Cory Redding and linebacker Jerrell Freeman during a 9-on-7 inside running drill for Bradshaw.
No pain. No serious soreness. It was just how Bradshaw had hoped it would go.
"You never know how bad it's going to be or how good it's going to be," Bradshaw said. "After that I knew I'd be all right."
It was anybody's guess how Bradshaw would respond after he went underwent surgery to fuse two vertebrae in his neck after his season ended in Week 3 against San Francisco last year. He spent the majority of training camp wearing a red non-contact jersey as a precaution.
But Bradshaw's right, everything has be all right even if there may be concern every time he collides with a defensive player while running the ball or pass protecting for quarterback Andrew Luck.
"We all know how Ahmad's wired and his mindset," Colts coach Chuck Pagano said. "He's a football player and he's a tough guy, and I think we all envisioned him coming back. You always wonder when you have a neck injury and surgery and those kind of things how a guy's going to play, but his game really hasn't changed, hasn't tapered off a bit."
Bradshaw is trying to run around or through any defender that gets in his way. Avoiding contact is the last thing on his mind. He's coming off a game in which he rushed for 70 yards to go with 26 yards receiving against the Philadelphia Eagles.
What made Bradshaw's performance against the Eagles even more impressive is that he played running back, fullback and even lined up as a receiver. His 10 targets on the season are third to only Reggie Wayne and T.Y. Hilton.
"He's a different breed," said Colts receiver Hakeem Nicks, who was Bradshaw's teammate with the New York Giants. "When people ask me how long he can play, I keep telling them you can't put any years on it. I call him, '44 Bulldog' because he's going to bulldog you."
Bradshaw's play -- and reliability so far -- allows the Colts to have another option to go to with Trent Richardson, who rushed for 79 yards against the Eagles.
"He's a warrior," Luck said about Bradshaw. "He's tough as nails, and what he does is great. I think his passion for football is contagious. You can tell when he's in the game, when he's at practice, when he's at meetings. This is what he loves to do and that's contagious. I feel so grateful to get to play with him."